Divinity II

The main focus of the game is on traditional action-role playing gameplay, which includes completing quests, exploring the game world and interacting with a variety of non-player characters. Divinity II utilizes some elements of games like Diablo, such as a focus on upgrading equipment, randomized magical effects on equipment, unique item sets that offer greater benefits when used together, and some quest mechanics such as markers to show that an NPC will offer a quest to the player.

It also has elements from more traditional role-playing games, such as branching conversation trees, choices that affect other events in the game, and non-combat segments, such as platforming or puzzle elements. When interacting with non-player characters, the player will often have the option to read their minds, which can provide information, extra choices in a quest, or equipment, at a certain cost to their experience points.

The game takes place in the world of Rivellon from Divine Divinity, although much time has passed since the end of Divine Divinity. The player character starts as a Dragon Slayer at the end of their training, when they are given draconic powers as a way to help fight the last remaining dragons. These powers also erase their memories of their training, but they are reassured that their memories will return quickly. The regular proceedings are interrupted by news of a dragon sighted nearby, so before the initiation is finished, the player character is rushed off with them to where the dragon was last seen.

Throughout the game, the hero has several encounters with Damian, the Damned One. Damian is amassing his armies of monsters to destroy Rivellon. He was driven to such actions by the death of his love, Ygerna, at the hands of his adoptive father Lucian (The Divine One, the hero from the first game). The player learns of a reversed soul forge Damian placed on him and Ygerna, meaning that resurrecting Ygerna would kill Damian.

Development on Divinity II began around 2006, after Larian Studios had acquired enough money to begin development on a Divinity sequel in earnest. From the beginning, the game was planned with the feature of transforming into a dragon in mind, and even included a third form, halfway between the dragon and human forms, which would have served as a powerful form for fighting on the ground. However, it was not implemented in the final game, though the model was reused for enemies in the game. The original concepts included more areas, based on the original map of Rivellon in Divine Divinity, as well as features like a multiplayer, co-op, and greater importance given to the Battle Tower.

The game uses the Gamebryo engine, known for its use in Oblivion and Fallout 3.

On Metacritic, the PC and 360 versions of Ego Draconis have an average score of 72/100 and 62/100 respectively. The Dragon Knight Saga has average scores about ten points higher, with the PC version getting an average of 82/100 and the Xbox 360 version getting an average of 72/100.

GameZone's Dan Liebman gave both the PC and Xbox 360 versions an 8.4, saying "Strong narrative and open-ended design are the highlights of this fantasy experience. Divinity II: Ego Draconis will likely be overlooked by many due to the timing of its release, but it offers a genuinely engrossing world for RPG buffs to wallow in." GameZone also gave the Dragon Knight Saga a 7 out of 10, stating "Although the graphical improvements are appreciated, newcomers expecting a visual powerhouse shouldn't get their hopes up. A good number of glitches can still be found, visual inconsistencies being one of the most striking. Your overall perception of Rivellon's scope isn't quite the same as a Bethesda RPG—it's a limited field of view, despite the actual grandeur of the world."